The Heat,  Another Jasper Bella Kidnap Story
by 4MeJasper
Summary: Yet another Jasper/Bella kidnap story.  Peter kidnaps Bella as a gift for Jasper's birtday.
1. Chapter 1 - The Snatch

Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank the amazing beta readers at Project Team Beta for helping me with this story. You guys are phenomenal.

Chapter 1 – the Snatch

I sighed, finishing the last chapter of my assigned reading. I closed the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, and started to straighten up my papers before I grabbed my backpack. After I was done stashing papers in my sturdy, if ragged-looking, backpack, I got up from the table at the library, and got ready to head home. It was a small library, but a generous gift from the local, rich doctor, Carlisle Cullen, had allowed for the library's expansion into this new building. The city had added a computer lab and new reading tables with lamps. I preferred the long tables to the computer cubby holes. I liked the smell and feel of books. I loved grabbing a book off a library shelf at random and opening it, feeling the anticipation of whatever surprises might wait inside.

But really, To Kill a Mockingbird again? Well, only a few more weeks to go and I would be graduating from high school. Supposedly, this classic was a high school staple, and I wouldn't have to read it again in college.

Thank heavens. The upcoming graduation for Forks High School was going to be much smaller than it would have been in my old high school in Phoenix. How I missed Phoenix. I missed the sun and the sprawling, immense city. I missed being part of a huge high school class, where one loner was easily overlooked. After I moved back to Forks earlier in the year, I had been the center of attention, which was a place I hated to be. I felt like I was starring in a movie: The Return of the Chief of Police's Daughter, starring Isabella Swan.

I walked out to my rusty, old truck, a great, old dinosaur that my Dad, Charlie, had bought off Billy Black. Charlie had given it to me as a homecoming present when I had moved to Forks earlier in the year. Sure, it was from the 1950's and was a rusty orange, but it was like a tank. And with my clumsiness, I needed the protection on the road. I climbed into the monster cab, set my backpack on the seat next to me, and put the key in the ignition.

Suddenly, I was aware I wasn't alone in the cab. As I started to turn to the passenger side, I felt a sharp blow to the side of my head. I was vaguely aware of being moved and hearing the truck rumble to a start, before completely slipping under.

The next thing I knew, I was slowly waking up, feeling stiff and sore. I started to move, but since I was lying face down with my nose smooshed into the space between the seat and the seat back, I was having trouble. I pulled my hands out from under me and sat up, rubbing my aching shoulders and neck. I could smell a stale, yet still sweet smell of some chemical in the cab. There was a rag on the floor, as I got closer I started to feel woozy, so I tossed it out the window..

I looked around, and realized I was alone in the cab of my truck. But where?

Gradually I realized it was very sunny, much too sunny and bright for Forks. I drew a sharp breath as looked out the window. I was in the desert? How did I get here? I did a quick self-assessment, trying to commit everything to memory. I was thirsty, stiff, and moving slowly. But I didn't seem to have any injuries, and I wasn't restrained in any way. However I had gotten here, it quickly occurred to me that whoever grabbed me and my truck might still be nearby. The keys were still in the ignition.

I quickly struggled to get behind the wheel and tried to start the motor.

No gas. The gas gauge was on empty, and looking around, I saw I was on a dirt road, in the middle of a desert nowhere. The land was flat and yellow-brown, dotted only by occasional scrappy- looking trees and bushes that I knew wouldn't give any real shade.

What the hell? I felt panic starting to rise in me. I took deep breaths, trying to calm down. I was in an isolated spot, in a potentially hostile environment. I couldn't afford to lose it. I grabbed my backpack from the floor and dumped it on the seat next to me. There, among my textbooks and homework assignment, was a half a bottle of water and a Powerbar. I quickly drained the water bottle, ate the Powerbar, and then got out of the cab. I knew my fair skin would burn quickly in the sun, but I had to start walking. Hopefully, there would be a car coming from somewhere else soon.

And with any luck, it wouldn't be whoever dragged me out here.

I didn't have any sunblock in my backpack, of course. I had been in Forks, after all. So I decided to try to use my hoodie for protection from the sun. I pulled the blue hood up, put my hands in my jeans' pockets, and began go walk. I walked in the direction that put the sun at my back, choosing to protect my face from the sun as long as I could.

The heat from walking in the sun wearing the dark-blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans was immediately overwhelming, but I trudged on. Every ten minutes, I gave myself exactly two minutes of relief, putting my hood down. After a little over an hour of walking, I realized I was starting to sunburn, despite my precautions. There was no shade. Where the heck was I?

I finally saw movement on the road ahead and was torn between fear and hope. Someone was coming. I tore off my hoodie, choosing to use it to help flag down the motorist, and began trotting towards the oncoming car.

The vehicle, with its attendant cloud of dust, slowly came into focus. It was a motorcycle. Not just any motorcycle, either. It was a Ducati, with a single rider who was wearing a black leather jacket. I waved to the rider frantically. Whoever they were, they were going to stop, even if I had to run out into the road and grab the handlebars of that bike. I was sure that if I stayed out on this road much longer, I was going to get sun stroke on top of my sunburn and dehydration, and I could die of exposure. I had to get out of the sun.

The rider stopped and balanced the bike effortlessly on one leg.

A female voice came from under the helmet. "Sugar? What are you doing out here alone?"

Relief surged through my body at hearing the sound of another woman. Things were going to be better; women didn't kidnap women. Or did they?

"I ran out of gas," I called out, running to the motorcycle.

"Here, put this on and climb on," said the rider, handing me a helmet that was hanging off the seat. "I'll get you to shelter."

As I got closer, I felt a slight tug of foreboding, but decided it was just the circumstances. This was a woman, and if I could get to a gas station, I could call home.

"Thanks. What's your name?" I asked.

"Charlotte, darling, Charlotte Whitlock. What's yours?" she answered.

"Bella. Bella Swan." Soon we were driving too fast to talk comfortably, so I hung on and waited to get out of the sun. The skin on my face was starting to feel hot from the sunburn, even under the helmet. I needed to put something on it. But for now, I just wanted to get to some form of civilization, call home, and tell Charlie I was ok.

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	2. Chapter 2 - We're in Texas?

Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank the amazing beta readers at Project Team Beta for helping me with this story. You guys have been phenomenal.

Chapter 2 – We're in Texas?

_Recap - Bella, on her way home from the Forks library, was knocked out by an unknown assailant. She wakes up in the desert and starts walking to civilization. The first person she meets is a lone woman on a motorcycle, who gives her a lift._

After about an hour of riding, Charlotte pulled up to a house. We still seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere, but this was a long ranch-style house, made of wood. It looked well maintained, but old. I looked around, thinking maybe this was a ranch, but didn't see any stables or fenced areas for livestock.

I slid off the motorcycle after she stopped next to the wrap-around front porch. "I can't thank you enough," I said gratefully.

"No problem," she responded, gracefully walking up the steps leading to the porch, without removing her helmet. As she got onto the covered front porch, she finally took the helmet off and shook out her hair before glancing back at me. God, she was beautiful. She had pale skin and blonde hair. And red eyes. Freaky contacts, even for out here. She didn't look pale enough to be an albino. On the other hand, how could anybody be that pale out here in the desert?

"Can I use your phone?" I asked as she opened the door. She didn't answer but motioned me to enter the house, then closed the door behind me.

"Phone isn't working," she replied casually. "My husband has been doing some work around the place, and he managed to cut the wires. He's going to fix it, believe me, but he hasn't yet. Come in, let's get you some water and find something for your sunburn."

This was beginning to feel weird. A woman, even with a husband, living alone here in the desert without a phone? And where, exactly, were we?

I took a quick look around and noted a spacious living room. The front door opened onto the center of the long house, so there was a large living room with a fireplace and seating area to the left, and a dining area with a series of bookcases to the right. Both sides of the house had several doors that promised more rooms behind them.

The décor was western and tastefully done. There were lots of bronze statues of standard western themes, including horses and men riding them. The sofas and chairs were all covered in dark leather, and the end tables and dining room table were made of what looked like cedar, finished to allow the wood's original grain to show through. There were large windows with neutral-colored, heavy, floor-to-ceiling drapes covering each one. I could see what appeared to be a kitchen on the other side of the dining area, and a computer area in a hutch with a large TV.

Charlotte walked into the kitchen, and came back carrying a bottle of water, twisting the cap off of it as she returned. She offered it to me, but I noticed she hadn't brought one for herself, which seemed odd considering the heat and the long, dusty motorcycle ride. She motioned for me to sit down at the dining room table. Her red eyes seemed to bore into me; it was disconcerting. I shook my head and reminded myself that eye color was something you were born with, I shouldn't stare. If she had contacts, well, her fashion sense was her own business.

I sat down, and took a deep drink from the water bottle, then set it down. I decided to start asking questions. "Um, I was driving at night," I began, "I'm kind of lost. Can you tell me where I am?"

"Not too far from El Paso," she answered. "Where did you start out?"

I jumped at her response. _El Paso was in Texas! How long had I been out? No wonder I felt dehydrated._ I started to feel dizzy, and she caught me as I started to wobble. Her hands felt cold, very cold, despite the heat of our surroundings. There was something weird going on here.

Behind me, I heard the sound of a door being opened. I turned around and was shocked to see Jasper Hale, a boy from my high school. What was he doing here?

Jasper was one of the Cullen kids. They were the cool, rich kids who sat at a table by themselves, and looked and dressed like movie stars. On my first day at Forks High School, Jessica had pointed them out in the cafeteria. At that time, there were five Cullen kids, but the one named Edward had left school the next day, and we hadn't seen him since.

Now I was in a house in the middle of nowhere with a strange woman and Jasper Hale, who was leaning back against the doorway, staring openly at me. He wasn't in any of my classes, and I had never actually spoken to him. In school, he dressed somewhat preppy, usually wearing Dockers and some kind of an informal jacket. He always looked tightly wound, like he was holding something back. Here, he was wearing a black, form-fitting t-shirt, perfectly fitted jeans, and boots. There was nothing casual about either his intense stare or the way his body appeared gracefully poised against that doorway.

I took a sharp breath and started to back away, but there was really nowhere to go. I grabbed on to the back of one of the dining room chairs, pulling it with me, with some vague notion of blocking myself into a corner behind the chair. Suddenly, and rather surprisingly, I felt very relaxed.

"Easy, darlin'," Jasper drawled, moving towards me from across the room.

"There'd better be a good explanation for this," I said, my voice shaking. I wanted to sound firm, but I was starting to fall apart. I rethought this, and decided to soften my statement, while trying to regain my composure. "I mean, there's probably something here I'm missing?"

Jasper looked at me steadily, and said, "Well, Charlotte's husband thought he would give you to me as a birthday present."

"What are you saying?" I began to stammer. "What for? I mean, what did he…what are you going to do with me?"

"I haven't decided yet," Jasper replied, gazing at me intently.

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	3. Chapter 3 - We Won't be Dining Together

Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank the amazing beta readers at Project Team Beta for helping me with this story. You guys have been phenomenal.

Chapter 3 – "We won't be dining together"

"_What are you saying? What for? I mean, what did he…what are you going to do with me?"_

"_I haven't decided yet," Jasper replied, gazing at me intently._

Now I was really starting to feel woozy. I looked around the room wildly, not sure what I was looking for. A lamp to use as a weapon? The door, so I could run outside? I'd already been out in the sun too long to make a run on foot, but if I could grab that Ducati…maybe I could make it to civilization.

"Easy there, sugar. This has been a lot to take in. Why don't you come in here and get cleaned up. My husband will be back soon with some food," said Charlotte.

I looked at her in mute appeal, but her face was set in stone. I thought I would try to talk to her once we were alone. Charlotte put her hand on my elbow and started to guide me to another room. We had to walk past Jasper, and he stepped out of the way, looking away from me as we passed.

The next room we entered was a large bedroom. The décor was, not surprisingly, western and very masculine. There were oil paintings portraying scenes of horses and rodeos on the wall. The huge bed had a tan duvet covering it. An enormous picture window covering an entire wall, with what would have been a fabulous view if there was anything to see. All I could see was the barren desert outside.

"There are great views of the sunset through there," Charlotte said, finally breaking the silence.

She opened the door to a bathroom and led me in. While she sat on the edge of a large, marble tub and turned on the water, I sat on the toilet and began to shake. The emotions I'd been suppressing in an effort to survive were starting to break through.

"Please…" I began.

Charlotte merely looked at me. "This is my husband and our best friend. Don't ask me to help you escape," she said firmly. "I'll do my best to help keep you comfortable, because quite frankly that's in my best interest as well. Is this water temperature comfortable?"

I put my hand forward so that it was under the faucet and touched the spray. It was a little warm, and I flinched. Charlotte adjusted it slightly and then motioned for me to get in the tub. "I'll get you some clothes. Yours are soaked with sweat," she said simply, and left the bathroom.

I sat for a moment and then pulled off my clothes. They were wet and sticky from sweat and were starting to get cold. I could tell I had various contact blisters starting on my feet and various parts of my body from walking in the heat in inappropriate clothes.

I sank into the tub and sat for a moment before I started crying.

I'm not one of those graceful criers, those girls whom everybody wants to comfort. I just bawl when I have to. And right now I had to.

A short while later, the door opened slightly. Charlotte came in and picked up my clothes and laid some fresh ones down on the sink. She glanced at me, seeming to take in a lot quickly. "You'll need something for those blisters as well as the sunburn. Better use this gentle soap and be careful where you apply it."

Then she left again.

I don't know how long I sat in there, but I didn't want to get out of the bathtub. I didn't like baths. I preferred showers. But getting out seemed to be the next step to finding out what sick game these people were playing.

There was a knock at the door, and Charlotte poked her head in. "Your food's here. Why don't you get out and come into the kitchen."

I got up, dried off, and put on the clothes she had left for me on the sink. All western style; no surprise. The jeans didn't fit, as she was much curvier than I was. Thankfully we were about the same height though. We were both short. A white cotton oxford style top. No bra? Thinking about the generous allocation the good Lord had seen fit to give her, I realized that unless I planned to stuff an entire roll of toilet paper into each bra cup, one of her bras wasn't going to fit me. And frankly, wearing somebody else's lingerie did seem weird.

I decided to be tough and go out there and get some food. I would need to be strong to devise a way to get out of here. Surely Jasper had a phone on him that I could swipe. He was a rich kid. He probably had several electronic gizmos, any one of which might have some kind of messaging application. And I was pretty good with electronics. I would get my hands on one and find a way to either call for help or figure out where I was and how to get out.

Or maybe this was some kind of a joke. Someone had just driven me out into the desert, and in a few minutes, Jessica, Lauren and Mike would burst in and yell "Fooled ya." They were the only ones sick enough to pull off a stunt like this. It was a slim chance, but I had to hope.

I went into the next room, keeping my head up. Sometimes in new circumstances, I had a tendency to duck my head and hide behind my hair. But this was dangerous situation, and I was going to go out there like Charlie Swan's daughter, ready to face any challenge and show these sick fucks I was not to be messed with.

After my little pep talk, I emerged from the bathroom and crossed the bedroom to go into the dining room. When I walked into the room, Jasper had been joined by another man. This one could almost have been his brother. He was tall and rangy, just like Jasper, and had dirty blond hair, but he looked a bit more weathered, like he was used to spending time in the desert. He also looked more at home in the living room as he was clearly sitting in his own chair. He had taken his boots off and sank into the chair just like Charlie did at home.

I walked out to stand in front of them, and then I saw the new man's eyes. Red, just like Charlotte's. They were also cold and hard.

I suppressed a gasp, and started to shake. I struggled hard to control myself, and began walking in the direction of the room Charlotte was in. I could have sworn I heard a growl behind me, before, once again, I felt a strange feeling of calm.

Had they drugged my water? Why was I on this emotional see-saw? I understood feeling afraid, but this feeling of calm that kept washing over me was unexpected. I was going to have to think about only getting tap water from the faucet, and not accepting anything that they had handled.

As I went in to the kitchen, I passed Charlotte, who seemed to be holding a silent stare-down with Jasper and the other man, whom I assumed to be her husband.

_Charlotte_. She told me her name was Charlotte. _Kidnappers never gave their name, right?_ I started to relax a little, when I realized that maybe that meant they were going to kill me. Fear raced through me, and suddenly Jasper was next to me. I hadn't heard him moving, yet there he was.

It was like he was almost sniffing me. "I can sense your fear, Bella, and it feels…amazing."

This was not good. I refused to look around. I tried to find something to focus on and saw a McDonald's bag on the table. "Is that for me?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Yes," was Jasper's simple answer.

I walked to the redwood top table, carefully pulled out a chair and sat down. I opened the bag and pulled out the contents: a BigMac, fries, shake, and apple pie. I put the BigMac back in the bag and started trying to eat the fries.

"Something wrong with the burger?" an unknown voice asked from behind me.

"I'm a vegetarian, but the fries and apple pie look good, thank you," I answered, turning toward the speaker. The blond man, whom I assumed to be Charlotte's husband, had walked up behind me so quietly I hadn't heard him. He was standing uncomfortably close to my chair, gazing down at me with those creepy eyes.

At the word vegetarian, he let out a harsh, barking laugh. "Then you and Jasper have something in common. You both keep vegetarian regimes. We'll see how long his lasts with you around."

Jasper had moved to the other side of the table and sat down across from me while the man was making this comment. A low noise came out of Jasper that sounded strangely like a growl. "This is Peter," he said. Jasper leaned back in his chair and pulled one leg up onto it, so that he was sitting across from me, chin in one hand, other hand casually placed on his bent knee.

"Thank you again for the food," I answered, keeping my eyes focused on the food. I decided to try to engage Jasper in conversation. "Aren't you eating?"

Another laugh from behind me, and Jasper gave me an appraising glance. "I won't say I'm not hungry, but I doubt you and I will ever be dining at the same time."

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. I WILL SEND EXCERPTS FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER TO ALL REVIEWERS.

(And Jasper will feed you a French fry…)


	4. Chapter 4 - Watching the News

Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank the amazing beta readers at Project Team Beta for helping me with this story. I will learn how to use commas. I really will.

Chapter 4 – Watching the News

_From Chapter 3: "Thank you again for the food," I answered, keeping my eyes focused on the food. I decided to try to engage Jasper in conversation. "Aren't you eating?"_

_Another laugh from behind me, and Jasper gave me an appraising glance. "I won't say I'm not hungry, but I doubt you and I will ever be dining at the same time."_

These people were past creepy.

I finished eating and got up from the table. I toyed with the idea of asking to be excused, but decided to just get up, to see if they would stop me. I went back into the big bedroom and sat looking out the window. Eventually, just as Charlotte had promised, I got to see a spectacular sunset. Somehow, though, watching it hurt. All I could think about was my former home in Phoenix, where I had seen similar sunsets. What were Charlie and Renee thinking about my disappearance? The dull ache that I had been trying to push back became a sharp pain, and I started crying.

I heard the front door open and close a few times, and eventually I heard the Ducati take off.

Around nine P.M., Charlotte came in. "You might as well go to bed, sugar," she said. She gave me a t-shirt to sleep in and a bag with a toothbrush and toothpaste, and I decided eventually to get under the covers.

I must have dozed off at some point during the night, because soon daylight was streaming in through the picture window.

I got up and went into the bathroom. I had rinsed out the blouse and underwear I had been wearing before I went to bed the night before. They were already dry from the Texas heat. I looked around for my St. Jude bracelet but didn't see it. For some reason, this started to make me panic. I felt like I was missing a piece of myself without that bracelet. I couldn't even remember if I still had it on when I got out of the truck yesterday.

I ended just putting the clothes back on after washing up. Venturing out into the main room, I found Charlotte curled up in a chair in the living room. She was watching the TV with the sound turned way down. I wasn't sure how she could even hear it. A momentary thought that she should be holding a cup of tea or coffee flashed through my mind. But she wasn't. Actually, I had not ever seen her eat or drink. Weird.

"Good morning. Did you sleep?" she asked me with a lazy smile.

"I must have dropped off," I answered.

"There are Danishes on the counter and milk in the fridge. Help yourself," she replied.

I went into the kitchen and found a package of unopened Danish pastries on the kitchen counter. I hated Danishes. They're far too sweet and rich for my taste, but I had to keep up my strength. At least these people were making an effort to give me food.

I opened the refrigerator, where I saw that in addition to a few water bottles, it contained milk, bread, and an unopened package of Swiss cheese. That was it. Maybe this wasn't their regular house; maybe it was just some kind of vacation house. Because there wasn't really any food to be found anywhere in the kitchen, which seemed odd for a household with two men in it.

I ate one of the pastries. It was just as awful as I remembered. Sticky and sweet, it tasted like it came from one of those gas station convenience stores.

Trying to keep a grasp on my nerves by following meal routines from home, I washed my plate and glass in the sink, and then went back into the living room. At home, Charlie would be lounging on the sofa with his Vitamin R at his side, watching whatever game was on. Charlotte's voice interrupted my thoughts. "You want to watch something on TV?" she asked me, turning to face me. "We have cable. I'm sure you can find something on that would interest you."

"Um, that would be great, but I don't want to interrupt you. Do you have any books?" I asked. She gave a wave to the far wall, in an area which contained a sunken nook with chairs, and was lined on three walls with books.

I went over to the nook. It was very inviting, and under normal circumstances, I would have been excited about looking through the collection. But here I was really worried about what I would find. Copies of books on how to outwit the legal system? How to hide a body? Unwilling to think in those terms, I shuddered and tried to just stay cool.

What I found was kind of disappointing. The bookcases were filled with standard mysteries. They were the kind of thing you read to pass the time. The only thing outstanding in this bookcase was the age of some of the books. There were a number of pulp-style novels from the 1940s, still in the original jackets. As I knew from embarrassing mishaps in the past, due to their cheap binding, the books could come apart as you pulled them from the shelf.

Although I hadn't heard her, I suddenly became aware that Charlotte was standing right behind me. "Don't worry about hurting those books. They were probably only read once, and probably wouldn't be picked up again," she said, noting the one that I was holding.

I finally ventured to ask, "Where are the others?"

"Oh, they'll be back," was Charlotte's vague reply.

I found a few Arthur Conan Doyle mysteries and started reading. I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich around lunchtime and then returned to my reading.

Around seven p.m., I heard the sound of a car pulling up. In walked Peter and Jasper. Jasper just glanced at me and looked at Charlotte. Peter went to Charlotte, grabbed her into a bear hug, and whirled her in a circle before giving her a back-bending kiss. She giggled. For some reason, their happiness sent a small shiver of envy through me. Then the fear came back. Now the two men were both in the house, what was going to happen to me?

When I turned away from Peter and Charlotte's affectionate greeting, I noticed Jasper was watching me with a curious expression on his face. He quickly composed himself as he handed me a takeout bag, saying, "They don't have vegetarian places in this part of Texas, this is cattle country. They don't really understand the word vegetarian out here, but I got you a Cobb salad from a steak house. It looked pretty well covered with toppings. Maybe you can pick off any ham or bacon?"

"Thank you," I said, and took it into the kitchen.

I heard the sound of the news on the TV being turned on. From my vantage point in the kitchen, it seemed to me that they weren't really watching it though. They were using it as background noise while they talked. I could see the screen from the table if I turned my chair right. I thought I saw my photo flash across the screen, so I got up and ran to the living room to see if I could catch the story. Jasper grabbed my arm as I passed him, but Charlotte turned up the sound so I could hear the news story.

The newscaster's voice came on, while a photo of a burning truck that looked like my orange monster was displayed on the screen. "…and there has been a sad turn in the case that has caught national attention for the past several days. Forks Police Chief Charlie Swan's 17 year old daughter, Isabella Swan, reported missing on Tuesday, appears to have died in a car crash. Her truck was found at the bottom of a gulley in southern Idaho this afternoon. The truck contained a body that has been identified as hers by jewelry and dental records. Miss Swan, whose father began sending out search teams for her when she didn't come home last week, had been reported missing since she didn't return home from the library Tuesday night…"

Jasper walked over and turned off the sound. "They won't be looking for you," he said, gazing at me intently.

My head was spinning. So that's where they went. They must have left last night, driven the truck back towards Washington, and staged the accident in Utah. But that didn't explain either the body that was found in the truck or the dental records. What day was it? It takes a day and a half to drive from Washington to Texas. The time line didn't seem quite right…unless they had coconspirators. Had someone else driven my truck north? I began to feel shaky and sick as I tried to take all of this in. I tried to keep thinking clearly, though. I was going to have to keep a cool head to get out of this house and reach safety.

My brief attempt at clear thinking flew out the window when Peter turned to me and said with a smile, "I found someone to take your place in the truck."

My head began to swim. They'd already killed someone? I didn't stand a chance.

Charlotte caught the look on my face, and without a word she got up and guided me back to my room. She left the door open and went back to the living room.

I heard Charlotte ask Peter dryly, "How many tryouts did you hold before finding someone who fit the clothes?"

"Oh, a few," came Peter's cheerful reply. "I wanted someone with both the right hair and the right cup size. It took three tries before I got it just right." I heard a low laugh from what sounded like Jasper. "His eyes are still yellow so as you can see, he wasn't a lot of help. He just acted as spotter. The Cullens would be so proud…"

I must have passed out while listening, because the next thing I knew, it was completely dark in the room. The curtains had been partially pulled, but I could see that night had fallen outside. I was getting cold. I didn't bother brushing my teeth or pulling off my clothes. I just crawled under the covers and lay there shaking.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. I WILL SEND AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER TO ALL REVIEWERS.


	5. Chapter 5 - Hope of Help Fading

Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank the marvelous team of beta readers at Project Team Beta, who've been helping me with this story. I swear, I really will figure out this comma thing. Really.

Chapter 5 – Hope of Help fading

I slept fitfully, waking up and shaking, listening to the murmur of quiet voices and the TV from the living room. I didn't want to get up the next morning. I went into the bathroom and then just got back in bed.

Around 9:30, Jasper came to the half open bedroom door.

"You didn't eat your salad last night. I put it in the fridge. Or there's Danishes," he told me.

I didn't say anything. He just shrugged, and walked back into the living room. After a while, Charlotte came back in with the salad. She pulled a chair up next to the bed, and quietly said, "Eat." I picked at it mindlessly for a while and then rolled back over into bed. She sat for a few more minutes, then left. She came back a short while later and quietly set something on the nightstand before leaving again. I rolled over to see what she brought. It was a stack of books. They included the mystery I had been reading the day before and a few others.

I lifted a book from the stack, but put it back down quickly. The tears started forming in my eyes, and rolling down the sides of my face. I turned over on the bed and buried my face in the pillow. Charlie and Renee thought I was dead. I probably would be soon.

If only I hadn't moved to Forks. Why was this happening? I tried to recall anything, anything at all, about the weeks I had spent in Forks that might have tipped me off. The Cullens, though remote, appeared to be such a nice family. They had adopted these kids…that was it. That had to be it.

Dr. Cullen and his wife had adopted a psychopath. They probably didn't even know it. I began to wonder how many people Peter, Charlotte, and Jasper had killed. After a while I had to stop thinking in these terms. I had to come up with a course of action, a way to get out.

Or maybe I could try to leave a message for Dr. Cullen. Did he know about this house? Would he ever come here? Maybe I could carve something onto the bedpost or floorboard…I knew this was all crazy, but I had to think about leaving a warning, some kind of message to the world, something that would help end these sick people's games, or I would losing my mind.

Finally, I stopped trying to think. I spent a few more hours looking at the bleak landscape through the picture window. I could see the shadows of the clouds on the landscape. I tried counting the tiny scrabbly looking trees and bushes but had to give that up. I couldn't focus. It was clear that if I got out of the house, I wouldn't be able to hide behind the dwarfed desert foliage.

Then I heard a car pulling up outside.

Charlotte came into my room, shut the door, and sat on the bed next to me. Her face was void of expression.

Eventually I heard someone walk up to the front door from the front yard. Next I heard someone from inside go to answer the door. I opened my mouth to call out and instantly Charlotte's hand was over my mouth in a vise like grip.

I heard a cop's voice say, "Evening, Sir. We're looking for a missing girl. Can you take a look at this photo? Have you seen her?"

"No, Sir. Is she from around here?" asked a concerned sounding Peter.

"No, she's from Washington. But we picked up a LoJack signal from her truck about an hour's drive from here," replied the police officer. "Well, she went missing a few days ago and we're looking for her."

"Her truck is nearby?" asked Peter nonchalantly.

"No, Sir. It turned up in an accident yesterday in southern Idaho. But before that happened, we got a reading from out here. We found tire tracks from a truck that fit the tires on the make of her car. There's not a lot of traffic out here, there are only two other recent sets of automobile tracks out this way. One looks like a Ducati, just like the one registered to the owner of the house. That's why we came by. We're wondering if anybody here saw anything unusual in the past few days."

"Well, officers, if I see anything I'll be sure to let you know, will you leave me your card…"

Suddenly I heard the sound of a dog barking.

Charlotte glanced first at me, and then at the door to the bedroom. Surprisingly, she took her hand off of my mouth, got up, and walked towards the door.

I didn't wait. "I'm in here, please help me!" I began yelling with everything I had inside of me.

I didn't see what happened next. I only heard a scuffle, a single gunshot, and a dog whimpering.

I ran to the door, where I saw Peter bent over a man in a Texas Ranger uniform on the porch, his head on the Ranger's neck. Jasper was coming in from outside, his face made of stone. Charlotte was nowhere to be seen. There was a tan, unmarked SUV outside with a dog barking furiously from the backseat. He was scratching at the window, trying to get out. He seemed to be looking at something on the other side of the car, something I couldn't see. Jasper put out an arm to stop me from going outside, but after seeing Peter, I wasn't moving any further. He dropped his arm after looking at me for a moment.

Jasper looked between Peter and me. "Pity about the dog," he said to Peter.

Peter started to laugh, and choked. When he lifted his head from the Ranger's neck, I saw that his mouth was smeared with blood. "What about you?" Peter asked, gesturing towards the car. I could now see an arm on the ground by a tire, the only evidence of a body on the other side of the car. This must be what the dog was trying to get to.

"Not going to spoil my appetite," Jasper muttered, glancing at me.

I started screaming, but Jasper flashed to my side. He put some pressure on my neck, and I faded to black. 

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	6. Chapter 6 - Klutzes Shouldn't Do Dishes

The Heat: Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I wanted to thank the marvelous beta readers from Project Team Beta who have given me so much valuable input on this story. Thanks guys!

Also – I have posted an outtake separately, "The Heat and Fire," which contains Jasper's POV of the first five chapters of this story. Check it out if you want.

Chapter 6 – Waking Up in Hell, and Reasons a Klutz should not wash Dishes around Vampires

I slowly returned to consciousness, stirring restlessly. It was now dark, and I was lying on the bed in that master bedroom. I started to sit up, confused, since I didn't have a clear memory of actually going to bed the night before. As I sat up, I saw Jasper sitting in the chair across the room.

Suddenly the memories flooded back into my mind: the cop at the door, the moment of fleeting hope of a rescue, and then the image of Peter looking up from the cop's body, blood on his mouth.

I opened my mouth to speak, but it was so dry that I only croaked. Jasper gestured with his head to the bedside table next to me. I saw a water bottle and drank half of it in one take.

"What are you?" I spat out, wiping my mouth on the back of my sleeve. "Cannibals?"

Jasper leaned forward. "Nothing quite so human, I'm afraid," he said with a faint smile showing on his face. I had to admit, his face looked absolutely angelic when he smiled. Then he leaned back in his chair, tipped his head back, and looked down at me from across the room. "We're vampires," he stated simply.

"You're all mad," I said. "You need help…"

In a flash, Jasper was across the room in front of me, with his hand on my throat. "Now you are sounding like the plucky heroine from some teen horror movie," he spat. "Wasn't what you saw today enough?"

I remembered overhearing Charlie telling his deputies how to defuse a situation by changing the focus of an interview. "Did you kill the dog too?" I asked suddenly, grasping at this hope of redirecting this conversation.

It seemed to work. Jasper released me, looking puzzled. "No, I wouldn't hurt a dog, or a horse, for that matter," replied Jasper, much more calmly.

"But you would kill a human," I said, deciding to push my luck by returning to the original topic.

"I haven't done that in a long time," said Jasper. "That's why my eyes are topaz, while Peter and Charlotte's eyes are red. I have been drinking from animals; they drink from humans. But," he said, swiveling in his chair slowly, "it's like a human eating tofu. It keeps you strong, but it never fully satisfies…"

"Why me?" I asked.

He looked at me steadily and said, "You smell really good. My brother, Edward, had to flee to Alaska after spending forty-five minutes with you in Biology Lab. He nearly wiped out the entire class just to get at you. I know how he feels."

I heard a whining sound from outside. "You didn't kill the dog, did you?"

"No, we fed him the ham and bacon from your cobb salad. He's outside," said Jasper. "Most animals flee from us, they sense we're dangerous. He's very uncomfortable, and has been trying to break his leash, and run away."

I could relate. "What's his name?" I asked.

Jasper cocked an eyebrow. "I didn't look at his tag."

"Well, I'm going to." The picture window had a door at one end; I got up and walked to it. Jasper didn't make a move to stop me. He just watched me walking by with an appraising look.

"You can order some clothes on the internet if you want," he said. "I'll pull up a website. I don't mind you going braless, but you seem a little uncomfortable. You keep covering up your chest with your arms."

I blushed beet red at this remark. _Bastard,_ I thought. On the other hand, it sounded like I was going to live a bit longer.

I went outside and found the dog with his leash wrapped around a pole. He crouched low at the sight of me, and I stopped. I held out my hands in front of me and started saying soft things to him. Anything. My talking almost did more to calm me than to calm him. Eventually, the dog gave a low whine and lay down in front of me, whimpering quietly. I moved slowly up to him and eventually got close enough to try to pet him. According to the tag on his collar, this beautiful animal's name was King. I finally moved to the back wall of the house, cradling him in my lap, rocking us both. I started singing to him with my eyes closed.

Suddenly, King started growling. I started to pull away from him, but he got in front of me protectively.

"He likes you," said Charlotte, who had silently come out on the back porch while I was playing with King. Jasper was standing behind her. He had one hand against the door at head height, leaning on the doorway. "She's good with animals," he murmured.

Then, looking at me, he said, "When you're done there, I got the website up." I heard a low laugh from inside and had a feeling I wasn't going to like what I saw on that website.

I came into the house, leaving King reluctantly. I made passionate promises to both of us to return to him soon. He whined as I walked away and began to tug at the leash.

Peter, Charlotte and Jasper were all three in the living room. Jasper was sitting on the sofa, and as I walked up, he gestured towards the laptop sitting on the desk. I went to it and saw a Victoria's Secret website that had been left up. "Pick out what you need and put it in the shopping cart," Jasper instructed. "I'll take care of the rest."

"Thanks," I replied. He nodded in response.

I quickly found some things, as modest as possible for the site, and put them in the cart. When I turned to tell Jasper I was done, I saw he was watching me. He just nodded again, and I left the computer nook and went into the kitchen. The Danish pastries was growing stale, so I made toast with the bread for my sandwich. I finished off the milk and tossed the container in the trash.

I heard an electronic "whoosh" behind me as Jasper placed my order. I tried not to blush, thinking about the contents of that online shopping cart, leaning on the sink for support.

But as I leaned forward, the glass I was holding slipped. As it broke in the sink, one sharp edge cut my palm. I looked down at my bleeding hand and started to get faint. I never could stand the sight of blood.

I felt a dull thud and cold hands catching me as I fell, and my last memory was gasping, as Jasper's head appeared over my hand. This must be it, I thought. I struggled to remain conscious, thinking these were my last moments, but the horror at the feeling of Jasper sucking on my hand proved to be too much, and I gave way to the darkness.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. I WILL SEND AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER TO ALL REVIEWERS.

Unless…do you want it to end here? This was one of my original endings. You better let me know, or maybe there won't BE a NEXT chapter. Mwah-ha-ha…


	7. Chapter 7 - Leaving Texas

Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank the amazing beta readers at Project Team Beta for helping me with this story. You guys have been phenomenal.

Chapter 7 – Arrival of Carlisle, Leaving Texas

I woke up to a steady _beep-beep-beep_. I kept hoping I was dreaming, but I opened my eyes anyway. I saw an IV attached to my arm and felt a cool hand on my wrist. This all felt very familiar.

I looked up at and saw Dr. Cullen standing over me. He was scrutinizing me carefully, but in a caring way. His familiar blonde hair and topaz eyes were reassuring. Something about those eyes set off a warning prickle in the back of my head, but I ignored it.

So it was all a bad dream. _I must have hit my head harder than usual_, I thought with a grin. I started to relax. My clumsiness meant I had quickly gotten to know Dr. Cullen at the Forks Hospital.

"How are you feeling?" His familiar voice was quiet.

"OK, I guess. What happened?" I asked. "I don't remember much, but I did have a very strange dream," I said as I began to sit up. I felt weak, and I started doing a mental assessment of my body. Where was I hurt? I couldn't really feel any pain anywhere. I must have done a real job on myself this time, if I couldn't even tell where I was injured!

I looked back at Dr. Cullen, preparing to ask him to fill in the gaps in my memory. Then uneasiness began to trickle back in, creeping up my spine as I looked more carefully at him. I had been completely focused on his familiar face, but it gradually dawned on me that he wasn't wearing either a lab coat or a tie. He had a stethoscope around his neck, but we weren't in a hospital room. I was in that room in Texas.

I gasped at the sense of betrayal and fear that began to overwhelm me. I began looking around wildly, and that's when I saw the bag of blood hanging next to a clear IV bag above my bed.

"Shh-h-h-h," he began.

"How could you? How…what?" I stammered out, as the horror of the situation finally began to sink in. "You're putting more blood in me for him to drink? What the…" Dr. Cullen's smile faded, and he looked angry.

Just then Jasper's face came into view. I gasped, seeing his eyes were now red as if shot through with blood. My blood. I was staring at my own blood, swimming in his eyes!

I started to panic even more and began to struggle, pulling at the IV, pushing and kicking at Dr. Cullen as he leaned over me, holding my arms down in an iron grip.

"Don't think this situation is easy for me," he began, with a harsh glance at Jasper. "I came here to see what I could do for you," he continued.

Dr. Cullen motioned to Jasper, who moved over me in order to take over the doctor's hold on my arms and chest, while Dr. Cullen pulled a needle out of the bag next to my bed.

"I'm going to give you a sedative so we can talk," Dr. Cullen said, as he injected the contents of the needle into the IV line.

I slowly began to feel heavy, as I started to sink into the drug induced stupor. I stopped fighting, as it became too much work. But the sedative couldn't stop the tears that started rolling from my eyes. Dr. Cullen's face turned to stone above me while I sobbed. "Get me out of here, please?" I begged. "Or at least, let me talk to Charlie?"

Dr. Cullen said, "They tell me you saw the TV report on the accident in Idaho. I signed your death certificate, after comparing your dental records to the dead girl removed from the accident site. No one will question it, and Charlie ordered a cremation," he said firmly.

"Why?" I quit trying to hold back my tears.

"I'm sorry for what has happened to you at the hands of my family. I am going to try to get you through this, though. But the life you had-it's over," he stated firmly. The tone of his voice seemed sad though.

I looked over at the doorway as Peter came quietly into the room. I shrank away, a movement that Dr. Cullen seemed to notice. He gestured to Peter to keep a distance from us, and he stepped back, ducking his head while he listened to what Peter said in a low voice to Jasper. Eventually, Dr. Cullen moved to the other side of the bed so he could see both of them, while still maintaining a gentle but firm hold on my hands.

"We have to move now. I 'm going to carry you to the car," Dr. Cullen said quietly after Peter left the room. He picked me up with ease, and Charlotte followed us, carrying the IV bags. Although I was drugged, I was sure that I could smell gasoline.

Dr. Cullen gently put me into the back of an ambulance that was waiting outside, and then climbed into it himself, sitting to my left. Charlotte got in also, and seated herself on my other side. We sat waiting for a few minutes. I heard the sounds of the front car doors being opened, and Jasper and Peter's faces appeared at the glass divider between the cab of the ambulance and the holding area. They drove a short distance than stopped, leaving the engine idling.

Suddenly there was the sound of an explosion, and the ambulance rocked from side to side. Dr. Cullen pursed his lips and then patted me.

"Go," was all he said. Jasper was in the driver seat and he started the engine as soon as Dr. Cullen spoke the word. After a while, I heard the sound of sirens approaching. Jasper put our ambulance's siren on and said a few words into the radio from time to time. I could hear the trucks passing us, and then we drove in silence.

I started crying. Dr. Cullen looked very unhappy, but Charlotte patted my hand and said, "What, what is it?"

"King. You killed King?" I sobbed, referring to the Ranger's dog that had been tied to a post behind the house.

"Not a chance. Peter took him to a nearby town while you were out cold and set him loose. He ran straight for the town. He's got a microchip, so they'll find him. Police dogs are well cared for," Charlotte said, glancing over at Dr. Cullen.

_Not by his regular handler, not anymore_, I thought to myself, remembering how King was frantically trying to get out of the back of the SUV to the body lying on the ground.

We rode in silence for a while. They seemed perfectly content to just sit and stare without moving, totally creeping me out. Occasionally I noticed that Dr. Cullen did move a little-just a fidget. I noticed that these small gestures reassured me somehow. I began to think this was something he did to appear more human.

Soon the ambulance stopped and the back door was opened. Dr. Cullen picked me up, and Jasper helped him take me out of the back.

We were at some kind of a small airstrip, and Peter, Jasper, and Dr. Cullen quickly got onto a small plane. Peter disappeared into the cockpit, and Jasper sat with us in the back. I didn't see Charlotte, but glancing out the window, I saw the ambulance drive off, so I figured she must have stayed behind to deal with the remaining "evidence".

We took off shortly after Charlotte left the tarmac, and more fears came back as the sedative began to wear off. Where were we headed? What had Dr. Cullen meant when he said, "The life I had was over?" Once we were airborne, Dr. Cullen offered me an avocado sandwich, but I was in no mood to eat. I did take the water bottle and drank from it.

He sighed, but didn't look particularly surprised.

After a short time in the air, we landed in an area with pine trees. _Forks? _ I thought. There was a small airport in Forks, but I had never actually seen it. I was surprised they would go back there, but what the heck, it would give me a better shot at getting back home. Jasper got off the plane first, jumping from the plane to the tarmac, without waiting for a set of stairs.

Dr. Cullen and I waited for a few more minutes before he carried me off the plane the same way. He draped the IV bags around his neck, and then gracefully jumped to the tarmac. I sucked in my breath when he leapt, but he landed lightly. Much to my amazement, I was barely jostled.

I decided to keep my _do this often, doc_? crack to myself.

Dr. Cullen loaded me into the back of a waiting SUV, and Jasper drove off.

I felt very tired as well as cold. I must have been shivering because Dr. Cullen said something to Jasper, who turned up the heat. "We're almost home," Dr. Cullen finally said.

Looking out the window, I realized this wasn't Forks. There were pine trees, but the sky was clear. The air felt thin, as if we were at a high elevation. I wondered if they would even tell me where we were.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. I WILL SEND AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER TO ALL REVIEWERS.


	8. Chapter 8 - Welcome to Colorado

The Heat: Another Jasper/Bella Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank the amazing beta readers at Project Team Beta for helping me with this story. You guys have been phenomenal.

Chapter 8 – Welcome to Colorado, don't plan on leaving please

Jasper came around to open the car door, and once again Dr. Cullen prepared to carry me.

"I want to walk," I said through gritted teeth. Dr. Cullen paused and set me on the ground, allowing me to walk up to the front porch.

We went into the house where I met Mrs. Cullen, the only member of the Cullen family I hadn't seen so far. She was standing at the door as we walked up, a nervous smile on her face. Her smile faded when she saw the look on my face, but she tried to paste it back on.

"This is my wife, Esme," Dr. Cullen began as we went inside.

Esme seemed at a loss for words but finally stammered out, "Welcome." I looked at her then looked at the floor, making a mental note of her apparent unease in the situation. Maybe I had just found an ally in this situation.

The house was huge. _They were rich, what did I expect_? It smelled as though it hadn't been occupied for a long time. It was very clean and was clearly in the process of being moved back into. There were thick, gold curtains and matching chairs in the spacious living room, which was dominated on one wall by a huge fireplace, with chairs centered around it. To the left of the fireplace was a dining area with a large formal table with chairs for ten people, and past that I could see the doorway to a kitchen.

"I'll show her upstairs," said Jasper. He put an arm around me and guided me to the stairs.

I flinched at his touch, and he pursed his lips but kept a steady pressure on my back.

We walked up a flight of stairs that overlooked the living room and came to a landing. He turned and went left. "These are my sister and brothers' rooms," he said, gesturing to the right. "Ours is down here."

_Ours_, I wondered to myself, but didn't say anything.

He opened a door to the only room on the right side of the landing, and walked me inside before shutting the door. He guided me to an overstuffed chair and leaned up against a wall next to it.

I took a look around the room. It had been decorated in warm colors, with white paint on the walls, and moldings showing the exposed wood's natural grain. There were framed maps that looked antique on the walls, and glass cases containing muskets, swords, and what appeared to be Civil War memorabilia. One wall was completely covered with bookcases. The shelves contained manuscripts and rolled-up tubes in addition to books. There was the kind of casual disarray that happens in a well-used library, where books and manuscripts are actually taken out for use, instead of being simply displayed.

There was a large four-poster bed against one wall with a white duvet, in what appeared to be a 19th century style. In addition to the door to this main room, there were two more doors on one of the walls that did not have windows. It was my assumption that the closed door probably led to a closet. I could see glistening porcelain through the other door, so I assumed I was looking at a bathroom through the other door.

"What's going on?" I finally asked. "What happened?"

"You're with me now. Take this however you want, but you're mine. There are rules among our kind about not revealing ourselves to humans. If any other vampires found out about you, your life would be forfeited. That's why Carlisle agreed to bring you here. You're safer with us than anywhere else," he said.

This was the most he had ever said to me. I thought for a moment, and said, "Can I at least tell my mother I'm ok?"

"No," Jasper stated simply as he shook his head in frustration. "As far as they know, you are dead. Your memorial service will be taking place tomorrow in Forks."

I closed my eyes at this statement, as my feelings of despair for what Charlie and Renee were being put through by these people overwhelmed me. I was determined to stay strong though, and get a message to them somehow.

Jasper waited while silently while I struggled to regain control of my voice. I decided to ask him for the facts, imagining how Charlie would proceed in a criminal investigation, as if he were the one talking to them.

"What exactly happened in Texas?" I began.

Jasper tilted back his head, looking down at me. "What do you mean?"

"Why did I wake up in the desert?" I pressed. "What happened with Charlotte and Peter?"

Jasper pulled up a chair and sat across from me, making a steeple with his fingers, putting the index fingers into his mouth. He seemed to consider my questions for a moment. As I watched him, I noticed again that he was very good looking. Depending on my mood, those looks could be either angelic or make him appear to be the devil incarnate. At this moment, he looked angelic. The way his shaggy blonde hair framed his face made him look like a pre-Raphaelite angel.

A smile crept across his face, and he leaned forward. "What was that you were thinking, darlin'?" he drawled.

I shivered despite myself_. This must be Stockholm Syndrome, where you start to like the kidnappers. This is the bad guy, remember?_ It was going to be necessary keep a close watch on my emotions. I began to root around through my memories. Casting about for a strategy, I vaguely recalled some of Charlie's war buddies talking about their training during their rare visits to the house. They had always waited until after I had gone to bed, but I used to lay awake with the door to my room open in order to hear their stories. Sometimes they had described tactics used to protect themselves psychologically while in enemy captivity.

Jasper seemed to sense the change in my mood. He leaned back with one arm over the back of his chair. When he spoke again, it was almost in a military tone as if he was giving a report. "Your first day at Forks High School, we all noticed you. You smell unusually good to us. My brother, Edward, was very attracted to you, both to you as a person and to your blood. He left town to try to get a grip on his blood thirst." He seemed to roll his eyes at the last point. "Edward prides himself on his flawless control. The strength of your attraction seems to him shattered his self-confidence." He slowed his voice to what seemed an almost sarcastic drawl during the last two sentences.

"My other brother, Peter, who lives in Texas, just seems to know things. He certainly knows me. He called a week or so ago, casually asking how things were going. He pointedly asked about Edward. I told him Edward had recently left for Alaska and told him why."

"The next call I got from Peter was from Texas," Jasper continued, watching me closely. "He said to come down to his house outside of El Paso; he had a birthday present for me. Knowing Peter, I left immediately. He was supposed to have met me at the airport, but he didn't show. So I took off for their house on my own. When I got to the house, though, it was empty. A short time after I arrived, I got a call from Charlotte. She was pissed off."

"She said Peter had kidnapped a girl for me. It was someone I would know, she believed. Peter had planned to drive this girl in her own auto to their house, but he had run out of gas in the desert, and left the girl out there in her truck, alone. He told Charlotte to go get her, because her scent was so overwhelming that he didn't trust himself to carry her the rest of the way to the house. I immediately guessed she was referring to you from that comment," Jasper said quietly, and with what seemed a certain amount of regret. "Charlotte told me that the girl appeared to have awakened in the truck after Peter left, and had hiked off into the desert. She picked up your scent easily enough and went out looking for you."

"So Peter had sent Charlotte to pick you up while he went to the airport to pick me up," Jasper continued, stretching his arms in front of himself, before leaning back in his chair. "Along the way, he had stopped for something, which was why I had to run from the airport to the house. After he learned that Charlotte had safely retrieved you, he went back to the desert to get the truck. It turns out what he had stopped to pick up was your potential replacement in the burning truck, but the girl he selected had tattoos under her clothing. We had to look for another on our way back to Idaho."

I shivered at the casual way he referred to the women he must have killed.

He raised an eyebrow at my reaction, and then concluded. "You know the rest," he said simply.

"The cops?" I asked.

"Yes, the Rangers. That was really too bad. We would have been clear of the area in a few hours, as we were going to leave after you ate," Jasper said, looking genuinely unhappy. "I knew the area was getting hot; we had picked up on the search party using the internet. I like the Rangers in general, so I was sorry that went down that way."

"Are you from Texas?" I asked. "Were you ever a Ranger?"

"I was born in Texas. I was the youngest Major in the Confederate Army," Jasper said, shifting down in his chair. I looked around the room again. The Confederate paraphernalia on the walls took on a different meaning for me now. At this point, though, I still couldn't imagine him being just a harmless history buff.

"Did you collect all this when you were alive?" I asked. I got up to look at the framed maps that were hanging on the walls. I paused in front of one and turned to him. He nodded. I took a closer look at one of the maps. It was an old map, beautifully hand drawn, on a heavy paper that appeared to have been rolled, never folded. It had wavy lines that looked as if they represented hills, and there were a number of x and o marks on the map in varying colors of ink. They clearly had been placed there after the map had been finished. It appeared to be a field strategy map, showing the layout of enemy encampments.

"No. I didn't survive the war," Jasper replied. "While I was on my way back from evacuating a group of women and children from Galveston, I was changed into a vampire. There were vampire wars going on at the time. I was caught up in those for decades."

"Is any of this collection part of a family heirloom?" I continued.

"No, everything my family had was gone by the time I left the vampire wars and tried to go back home," he stated simply. "My sister had married and moved on. After my parents died, the house and farm were sold."

"So you had no place to go back to," I said softly.

"After a few decades of this life, everyone you ever knew is dead. I spent the first few decades of my immortal existence fighting the vampire southern wars. So, by the time I went back, they were all gone," he said, his face devoid of emotion. He was now watching me more like a predator, than the almost sympathetic person I had seen a flash of a few minutes earlier. I guessed that the informative conversation, and the bond that was beginning to develop, was at an end.

"Well, this is your bed," he said, gesturing towards the large double bed.

There was only one bed in the room. I started to get nervous, and his gaze on me grew tense.

"Where will you sleep?" I finally asked.

"I don't sleep," he said. "Sleep is a luxury only mortals enjoy. This vampire body never sleeps. It never rests," he said, staring at me in a meaningful way. I had a feeling he meant that even if I managed to escape the house, he was warning me he would never stop looking for me.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. I WILL SEND ALL REVIEWERS AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER.

And if you review, I will send you a map, as well. A map showing Jasper's current location in Colorado…


	9. Chapter 9 - Night time Conversations

The Heat: Another Jasper/Bella Kidnap Story

Chapter 9 – Night time conversations

I want to thank the amazing beta readers at Project Team Beta for helping me with this story, and EdwardsMate4ever and MissAnnBlack for their special assistance. You guys have been phenomenal.

Days, then weeks passed. I tried to find ways to keep myself occupied. The other Cullen kids came and went, driving their fancy cars up and down the mountains that surrounded the house. I noticed that I never saw Alice or Edward, both of whom I remembered from school. The other family member I seldom saw, other than the occasional flash of blonde hair that I caught always leaving as I entered a room, was Rosalie, but she was clearly trying to stay out of sight.

I wondered mostly about Edward; as he had been the only family member I had actually spent time with prior to my kidnapping, but no one spoke of him. Considering what Jasper had said about how he was driven all the way to Alaska by the scent of my blood, I decided to leave it alone.

Over time, as I talked to the various members of the Cullens, I began to learn their stories.

Since Emmett was the easiest going of the Cullen family, it was only natural that his story was the frist I heard. He just told it to me one day.

"I was out hunting one day when I came across a grizzly bear," he began. "My gun jammed, and the bear attacked me. I was dying, with nothing to defend myself except a knife. Then I thought I heard another bear come, and the two bears were fighting over me. It turns out the other bear was Rosalie. She had come across me as I was dying. Killing the bear before he could finish me off, she carried me to Carlisle, who turned me into a vampire. My blonde beauty and I have been together ever since." A goofy grin came across his face, and he looked wistfully at the next room after he finished.

I realized Rosalie was probably in the other room. She clearly did not accept the situation, and stayed away from me.

"But what about you, squirt?" asked Emmett.

"What about me?" I said, surprised.

"Don't you think Jasper is cute?" he asked. "I mean, I'm a guy and everything, but he is good looking and seems to be a real chick magnet. I'm surprised that as interested as he is in you that you're not throwing yourself at him when he walks in the door…"

Something made Emmett pause and look up, which was a good thing, because I began to blush furiously. Esme appeared at the door, rolling her eyes. "Would you like some tea, dear?" she asked me. I got up and followed her into the kitchen, relieved to be saved from this awkward conversation. Once I was seated in the kitchen with the tea, I heard a "What?" and then "Ow!" from Emmett.

One day, while we were playing chess, I asked Dr. Cullen about his background.

"You're here," I said to him during our game, which he was winning, as usual.

He nodded and looked at me, waiting.

"I mean, you're a doctor, don't you have to see patients?" I asked.

He sat for a moment, thinking. Finally he said, "I've been a doctor for a long time. As soon as I was turned, I knew what I wanted to do; I wanted to help people. So I studied medicine at various universities across Europe and eventually became a doctor. Because I don't appear to age, I have to keep moving and changing identities every few years.

To cover for this time we're spending together, I've contacted my current hospital and requested a sabbatical. I've been spending the time catching up on reading and doing some consulting work. It's interesting, because I have a few identities that could still be working physicians, so I'm getting work from several sources," he continue with a grin. "All thanks to the anonymity of the internet."

"But don't you need the money, I mean income?" I asked, and then paused_. Rude_, I think. _Of course the man is rich; just look around you, idiot!_

He just laughed. "Surprisingly, most vampires lead nomadic existences, and require little real money. As a species, we do like flashy cars and expensive toys like phones, but we no longer actually require that most basic of human needs, a house. As I am a doctor, I am expected to maintain a certain lifestyle. With a coven this large, I am fortunate to be able to draw on both a doctor's income and my investments. I've been very fortunate with my stock market choices, largely due to my family's canny way with investment strategies." There was a twinkle in his eye at the last comment.

"But now, you're not doing anything, stuck up here with me. And not all of your family is here, because of the situation with me," I said, referring to Edward and Alice.

"Right now, I am exactly where I need to be, which is here with you," Carlisle said, looking at me seriously. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. As for the rest of my family, sometimes we need to take a break from one another. One hundred years is a long time to spend together. A little separation is a good thing."

Other than talking to the others, I tried to pass the time by reading the books that were on bookcases spread throughout the house, but they only held my interest for so long. Esme helped me order some clothes and other personal items, clearly trying to make me feel more at home. I always had someone discreetly hovering over me whenever I was on the computer, making sure I wasn't sending messages to my family or friends., Or maybe Special Forces, I thought wryly, not that I thought even Special Forces could get me away from the Cullens.

I was surprised when one of the orders arrived, though. My Victoria's Secret order from my time in Texas had been re-routed to this new location. But when I opened the box, it contained a few more items than I had originally ordered. I blushed looking at them—satiny items that I would never wear. Jasper must have looked at my shopping car before adding to it, because they were all in my size. I ended up stuffing the new pieces of lingerie in a bottom drawer, under my sweats.

Jasper hadn't been in the house when that Victoria's Secret order arrived, he had been out with Carlisle. But he clearly knew it had come and watched me with an ill-concealed smile for the rest of the day after he returned. I tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't help the flush that kept rushing over my face. Jerk!

I ended up spending a lot of time playing chess with Carlisle and Jasper, playing video games with Emmett, and helping Esme cook. After all, the food was for me. I was surprised at how Esme involved herself. Eventually, I saw that she was a housefrau at heart. I learned from her story that she had been a housewife. Cooking gave her a new domestic skill to learn since she hadn't prepared meals in over seventy-five years, as she clearly needed a distraction from the circumstances of my involuntary inclusion in her household. I realized that she was trying to find ways to make me feel more at ease, and food is a classic source of domestic comfort. Esme was distinctly uncomfortable in the situation, which was fine with me. I decided I would try to use that to my advantage, maybe she would help me escape.

Over time, I began to recall the conversations that I had overheard my father having with some of his war buddies. One of them had been captured in Vietnam. He described having been tortured and interrogated for months. What I was pulling from my memories was the technique Charlie's buddy had been taught by the Marines before he was sent into combat. They taught him to resist his interrogators by occupying his mind with a steady mental project. He had built a brick wall, one brick at a time. This went on for months. If the interrogators got through to him, or he had a really bad session of torture, a brick would fall off of the wall. He would mend the wall, and then continue to build it. He credited this technique with allowing him to stay sane during his captivity. "Everyone breaks under torture," he said, but he kept his sanity by continuing to work on his wall each night as he lay in his prison cell.

I began to use this, especially at night. Jasper was very attractive, and I couldn't help but be drawn to him. I had to keep reminding myself of the pain he had caused myself and my family. Maybe I could forgive what he had done to me, ripping me from my life and future, but I couldn't forgive what he must have done to Renee and Charlie. And how could I trust him after the deaths of those girls in the desert and the Texas Rangers? So I started building a wall between us in my mind. I spent a lot of time working on it just after I went to bed.

Jasper and I would be alone in the upstairs bedroom. I refused to call it "our" room in my mind. He would be sitting quietly and reading as I crawled into bed. Often he would walk over to the bed after I pulled up the covers and lean over me, as if waiting for my reaction, but I put up that wall. I was Charlie Swan's daughter. I was not going to fall for some man, immortal or not, who had destroyed my family. I kept the feelings of fear and isolation I had experienced during those terrible days in Texas in the front of my mind. They help remind me of the unknown dangers I faced.

One dark night, another possibility presented itself. I woke up with the feeling that someone was at my door. I could hear the knob turning gently. Holding my breath, with my heart pounding, I looked around and saw that Jasper wasn't in the room. Maybe Esme was going to try to get me out?

Then the turning stopped. I heard the sound of low voices, mostly Emmett's voice, giving muffled responses to unheard questions.

"No, babe. I can't let you…I know you want to set her free…"

Now I really perked up at that comment.

This time I could hear a second voice. It must be Rosalie, and she was getting so heated she was speaking more loudly. "But it's not what she wants. She doesn't want this life; I don't understand why Carlisle is allowing…"

The next set of remarks were too quiet, I couldn't make them out. I wanted to get out of bed and creep closer to the door, but I knew they would hear me. So I focused on taking calming breaths, so they wouldn't hear my heart rate accelerating.

Then I heard Emmett's voice again as he said, "…that's Jasper's lady. I won't let you… He's been waiting 150 years for her...snapping her neck may seem…because he doesn't want her to be like Edward, stuck at age seventeen…"

Both voices stopped. I heard the front door open and shut. After about a minute, Jasper came into the room.

"You're awake," he stated. "May I ask what you heard?"

I started to say, "What do you…" but he cut me off.

"I'm sensing anger and frustration from Rosalie, a touch of frustration tinged with worry from Emmett, and fear mixed with relief from you. What happened?"

"Rosalie was going to set me free," I answered. I hoped that knowing that one of his family members wanted to end my imprisonment would make him think about releasing me.

"Not the way you think," Jasper said.

My blood ran cold at his words. I had heard, "snapping her neck," after all. I really wasn't going to get out of here alive.

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	10. Chapter 10 - Attempt at Flight Edward

Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank my amazing beta readers EdwardsMate4ever and MissAnnBlack for helping me with this story. Anything good is their doing, trust me.

Chapter 10 – Attempt at Flight and Edward's Visit

After my near incident involving Rosalie, I noticed that either Carlisle or Jasper were always in the house with me. I was never left alone with just Emmett again.

One day, Carlisle had spent the entire morning working in his office. He seemed unusually engrossed, as he didn't even look up to say good-morning when I passed. He had two large books open on his desk and was typing on his computer while he consulted them. I realized that he and I were alone in the house. Jasper must have gone hunting, and this was Esme's morning to go pick up groceries.

As I went downstairs, I heard a car pull up. I got to the kitchen just in time to open the door for Esme, who came in with a load of shopping bags. As she put them down, I said, "I'll grab the rest."

"Thank you, dear. There are some flowers in the front seat," she replied, starting to put things in the refrigerator, "but don't lift anything heavy. Emmett should be arriving in a few minutes. He stopped to pick up some additional things at the sporting goods store."

As I walked to the front of the car, I saw the keys in the ignition. I didn't hesitate; I just jumped into the driver's seat and had the motor running before I even had finished closing the door. Tearing off down the road at full speed, with no idea of where I was going. Just away.

The road was paved, but there had been some rain earlier in the morning. I kept driving as fast as I could while still remaining in control of the car. Eventually the road started winding down the side of the mountain via a set of sharp curves. I saw a flash to the left and for an instant took my eyes off the road. There, running next to the car at an impossible speed, was Jasper.

My eyes widened and I gunned the motor. Safety no longer mattered; I was in full panic mode.

"Slow down!" I heard him yell. I glanced in the mirror, and saw him jump off the side of the road. That didn't make sense, until I realized the pavement was curving around. He was going to get ahead of me.

I gritted my teeth, and decided that if I had to, I would run him over. He had killed people. God would forgive me.

He was standing at the side of the road, but he didn't get in front of me. Running alongside the car for a few seconds, he then jumped on top of the car_. Crap! I wasn't expecting that._

I hit the brakes and went into a skid. He backflipped off the car, as I had planned, but I started to spin out. Suddenly, I saw another car come around the bend, headed straight towards me. It was Emmett's Jeep. The car continued to spin on a road with no room. Jasper was watching and had stepped to one side.

In an instant, Emmett's Jeep was next to mine and was scraping against the side of my car. We both spun out, but his car somehow slowed mine to a stop. We skidded to a full stop against the side of the hill. When his car made contact with mine, the airbag deployed. I couldn't see anything and was knocked backwards in the seat.

As soon as the car stopped, my door was torn open, and Jasper had me out in seconds.

I was trying to breathe, and he looked torn between fury and something I couldn't quite put my finger on. I could feel my body hurting, my chest and something on my face. Jasper lifted me gently, holding me closely against his body while he gently ran his hands along my body, checking for injuries.

Impulsively, against my better judgment, I put out my hand and slid it along his jaw. He looked beautiful in that moment. I reached up and threaded both my hands into his hair, letting it slide between my fingers. Subconsciously, I had wanted to do that for a long time, but kept putting up my brick wall around the thought.

Jasper's arms continued to hold me close, but he went completely still at my touch. We stood like that for a moment while I heard Emmett getting out of his car.

The moment was interrupted when Emmett spoke just loudly enough for me to hear, "I'm sorry, man. I just can't do this anymore." Then he took off running down the hill.

Jasper looked back at me, and loosened his grasp on me so that I slowly slid down his body. The moment had passed, and physical pain from the accident was starting to set in.

He seemed to sense pain, so he gently picked me up again, and carrying me bridal style in his arms, ran me back to the house at that impossible speed, his eyes never leaving my face. I had never moved so quickly before, and it was an exhilarating feeling, marred only by my increasing pain. Everything started to hurt, especially when I took a breath. I started doing a mental inventory, and figured I probably had at the very least bruised my ribcage, if not broken a few ribs. And from the feeling on my face, I was going to be sporting a shiner plus a split lip. Both my mouth and left cheek were throbbing.

I realized Carlisle had been standing on the hill above us, watching the whole ordeal. He silently joined us in our run back to the house.

When we got to the mansion, Esme was waiting at the back door, holding it open. I turned and saw Carlisle say, "Emmett left," to her. She nodded and bit her lip. She looked like she would be crying if she could.

I mumbled my condolences to her, but I couldn't help feeling that my apology just wasn't enough in this moment. I meant it, because I didn't want to cause her pain.

My feelings were still mixed up. Adrenaline was flowing, I was starting to hurt, but something else was mixed in. Jasper was staring at me silently. Carlisle brought his medical bag into our room, and after watching my grimace as I tried to take off my sweater so he could examine my ribcage, he gently pulled off both my sweater and blouse so he could examine my chest. I wasn't embarrassed to be sitting on a bed wearing just a bra and jeans with the two vampires. I was too busy trying to sort out the feelings that had pushed their way to the surface, past the wall I had been so careful to erect between Jasper and myself over the past few months.

Esme came to the door with an icepack. I could tell I would need it. The left side of my face was throbbing; my vision already seemed limited as if my eye was starting to swell shut. I had a feeling my whole face was going to blow up. When Jasper put the icepack to my face, it immediately felt better. He started to gently stroke the uninjured side of my face after handing me the ice pack to hold, and his cold hand felt good. I put up my other hand to hold the ice pack on my cheek and leaned into his touch. I didn't want him to move away.

Carlisle offered me some pain medication, but I told him I preferred to wait to see if I really needed it. He nodded, and left it in a cup by the bed. I lay down, and Jasper pulled off my jeans and shoes without speaking, then covered me with a blanket. I didn't want to look at him; I was too confused by the unexpected rush of emotions from the afternoon. I just gazed up at the canopy over the bed. Eventually I fell asleep, exhausted from the emotions of the afternoon.

I was still in bed when the sun set. Jasper and Carlisle thought I should continue to rest, but I wanted to sit up to eat something. I had lain in bed long enough, trying to sort out the onslaught of all my new feelings. I both loved Jasper and hated the vampire passionately, but the hate was beginning to fade. I needed a clear head in order to think.

I asked Jasper to take me downstairs so I could sit in front of the fire while I ate. He picked me up, being careful of my bruised chest, to carry me downstairs. I curled up against him, starting to give in to his smell. He smelled so good to me, he always smelled somehow like cinnamon, leather, and the air from a hot summer afternoon, and that combination sometimes made my toes curl. But I kept blocking it off with my wall.

As I sat in the chair in front of the fire and began to doze, I heard another car pull up to the house.

Jasper let out a growl, and stood up in front of me as if to guard me. Carlisle looked at him quickly, and went to the door. When he returned, Edward was with him. Esme came downstairs and hugged Edward. She was smiling, making a fuss over him. I could tell from this genuine smile that the one that had crossed her face for the past number of weeks had been forced.

Edward came into the living room where Jasper was still positioned in front of me. I had pulled my legs up into the chair and wrapped my arms around them. I was still thinking of what Jasper had told me in Texas, how Edward had left because he wanted my blood.

Edward's eyes were black. Usually all the Cullen's eyes were the same topaz color. Even Jasper's eyes had gone from red back to topaz after a few weeks. I had never seen a vampire with black eyes. Until now.

Looking at Edward now, I couldn't believe I could have ever thought he was mortal. He looked like a Greek god. Even his unruly hair was somehow perfect.

He stopped walking at the sight of Jasper. I sensed a face-off, though I couldn't see around Jasper.

He peered around Jasper at me. "How have you been, Isabella?" Edward asked. "I'm sorry I never got a chance to introduce myself to my lab partner. Things might have been different if I had."

Jasper let out a loud growl, and replied, "Stop it. You have no claim to her."

"And you do?" replied Edward, looking away from me and straight at Jasper. I started to get worried about the prospect of a fight. After seeing Jasper run this afternoon, I realized I had no idea of what vampires were physically capable of doing.

Carlisle got between them. "We're not going to fight. There are ladies present. They've both been upset enough today. So take it down a notch, please."

If the situation hadn't been so serious, I would have laughed at hearing such a slangy expression coming from Carlisle. _Take it down a notch?_ Had he been watching too many crime shows? But the remark also sounded like something Charlie might have said in defusing a fight. Suddenly, the feelings I had been holding back over my separation from Charlie came crashing through and I gasped at the emotional pain. Jasper stiffened in reaction to my sharp intake of breath, but stayed crouched between Edward and I.

"You can't read her mind. You don't know what she wants," Jasper growled to Edward.

_Wait, read my mind?_ I looked over at Jasper and said, in a voice that came out much more timidly than I planned, "I would like to go to bed now."

The heads of all three vampires whipped in my direction, and Jasper finally smiled. "All right, let's go upstairs, darlin'. You've had a long day." He scooped me up from my chair, wrapping my throw around me, and carried me up the stairs to our room. He settled me on the bed, then went into the bathroom and began running some water in the bathtub.

Even from what I presumed was the safety of our room, I could hear Edward and Carlisle arguing downstairs.

"She doesn't want him, Carlisle!" exclaimed Edward.

"That's not the feeling I'm getting," Carlisle said calmly, "and that's not the message we're getting from Peter."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you allowing it?" said Edward, almost petulantly.

"Because after what happened in Texas," said Carlisle, "I believe we have an obligation to keep her safe."

"Safe? What do you mean? How can she be safe here? You've only changed those of us who had no other choice. You've been adamant about this your entire existence, and now you're just going to let him…" Then their voices dropped, but the next words I heard from Carlisle surprised me.

"I've been very impressed with her. She's a true fighter, and a perfect match for him," Carlisle said. "She is resisting his personal charm at what sometimes appears as a great effort on her part. He wants to wait for her acceptance, and I'm proud that he…"

Carlisle's voice dropped again, I couldn't hear anything else.

I sat on the bed still dressed, legs dangling over the edge, fidgeting with the duvet. When Jasper finally came out of the bathroom with my robe, I stopped him from lifting me from the bed by putting up my hand.

"I have some questions, if we're still on speaking terms after our little impromptu speedway adventure earlier today," I began.

"We're on speaking terms, darlin'. We'll always be on speaking terms," Jasper quickly replied. He quickly pulled a chair over from across the room and sat on it with his legs crossed.

"What did you mean when you said to Edward, 'read her mind'?" I asked.

"Some of us have gifts," Jasper began, but I cut him off.

"You mean, in addition to your ability to run?" I interjected.

"We can all do that. We are all faster and stronger as vampires than we were as humans, and have much sharper senses," he continued, "including sight and hearing, and particularly smell. A few of us , however, have something additional. We call these additional powers 'gifts'. Edward can read minds, well, all but yours. I can sense and to some extent manipulate emotions."

I gasped. This made sense, as he had occasionally made remarks about other's feelings that seemed almost supernaturally insightful. And he always seemed to know when I had a mood change. "But you can't manipulate mine?" I asked.

"I could," Jasper said, "but I've always wanted to make sure that you know that your reactions to me are real. So in Texas, I sent you some relaxation, but that was it."

"What emotions do you get from me?" I asked.

He pulled his chair closer to the bed, and leaned forward, almost touching my knees. "You feel for me, but you're fighting it. You literally put up a wall at night," he whispered, reaching out to push my hair out of my face.

I gasped. So he knew. _But wait, that was a mind-reading thing, wasn't it?_

Gathering what scraps of dignity I could, I managed to say, "Sometimes it's needed. Most times." I started to reach for him, but then pulled back. It was too much. I was mortal, none of this made sense. He caught the gesture, and nodded, seeming to restrain himself from reaching for me. I was raw on the inside as I felt the acid of what seemed like a betrayal of myself and Charlie by giving in to him warring with this almost overwhelming, indescribable need for him. I turned away, and curled up on the bed as best I could with my sore ribcage, hiding my bruised face from view, and fell asleep.

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	11. Chapter 11 - Happy Birthday (pt 1)

Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank my amazing beta readers EdwardsMate4ever and MissAnnBlack for helping me with this story. Anything good is their doing, trust me.

Chapter 11 – Happy Birthday, Welcome to Forever – Part 1

I HAVEN'T FINISHED TINKERING WITH THIS LAST CHAPTER, AND NOW I'M UP AGAINST MY SELF-IMPOSED FRIDAY NIGHT DEADLINE. SO I HAVE SPLIT THE CHAPTER INTO TWO PARTS, AND I WILL POST THE SECOND PART WHEN I COMPLETE IT. THAT WILL BE SOME TIME OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, AS I GO ON VACATION AT THE END OF NEXT WEEK.

The tension had been very high until Edward left the next day. The night after the accident and Edward's arrival, I only slept fitfully, waking throughout the night. I was awakened at one point by what sounded like metal being torn apart. When I started up in bed, the light was quickly flicked on. Esme was sitting in Jasper's chair.

"What is it, dear?" she asked tenderly. "Do you need some pain medication?"

"No, I'm all right. I feel about the way I should, I suppose," I said, grimacing as I rubbed my sore ribcage. "But I thought I heard a weird sound outside. I don't know what it was. Did you hear it?" I leaned towards the window over the bed, stopping to wince at the pain caused by my movement.

Esme's face tightened momentarily, then she smiled. "Oh, Jasper and Edward are outside talking. But don't worry, Carlisle is out there with them. And there is a storm coming up, you might have heard some distant thunder." She walked over to the bed and smoothed the covers down around me.

It was true, the wind was picking up outside. I wasn't completely reassured, however, as she was throwing worried looks at the window herself.

The next time I woke up, Jasper was sitting in his chair again, looking at me over the top of his book. He had an odd vibe about him, as if he were feeling both tense and triumphant. The crash of thunder and a flash from lightning outside lit up his face momentarily, casting eerie shadows on his smile.

The storm had passed by dawn. While I was looking out of my bathroom window the next morning, I saw a silver Volvo pull out of the garage. It must be Edward's car, as I hadn't seen it before. I didn't see him leave, though, I only saw his car. Not long after he was gone, another car pulled up to the house. I kept hoping it was Emmett, but it wasn't.

It was Peter and Charlotte. To my surprise, I threw myself in Charlotte's arms when I saw her. I wasn't as glad to see Peter, but he didn't seem so scary after the time I spent with Rosalie and Edward. Charlotte laughed and mussed my hair a little.

"Good to see you, too! Keeping Jasper on his toes?" she asked. When I didn't reply, she said, "I thought so. It gets easier."

Charlotte insisted on taking me outside with her on long runs, generally carrying me at least part way on her back. The ride was exhilarating; I had come to love traveling over ground at vampire speed. I wasn't comfortable asking Carlisle and Jasper to give the human "piggyback rides", but Charlotte just reached out her hand as we were going out, and I slung myself onto her back, clinging to her like a spider monkey. After running a distance from the house, she would let me down and we would hike for a while, never very far. She didn't fuss over whether I was warm enough; she seemed to trust that if something was wrong I would tell her.

Things did get easier with Peter and Charlotte in the house. I missed Emmett terribly, though. One day when I mentioned it to her, Charlotte just said, "He'll be back."

"When?" I asked her, excitedly.

"This is tough for him. You have to understand. None of us have ever been a part of something like this before; none of us had what you're going through happen to us. It's usually just a bite from a stranger, followed by days of agony. As for me…"

"What happened to you?" I asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper slip into the room. She looked back at him and smiled at me.

"I'll tell you someday," she said. "Now is not the time. Now is your time."

_Great, more cryptic stuff._

Eventually, on one of our long runs, I got a chance to ask her a little more about Jasper's comment, _You are mine_. To tell you the truth, it did kind of give me a thrill, though it was one I quickly squashed. So I asked her about that.

"What he's saying is that you two are mates, like Carlisle and Esme, or like Peter and me," Charlotte began. "He's acting differently around you, though. Usually when a vampire finds their mate, they claim one another quickly. He is giving you a chance to actually want him- to get used to the idea. You are still human, and none of us have ever heard of a vampire finding a mate while they are still human. No one knows quite what should happen between you two, and since Carlisle is involved, things are happening in a very different way than usual."

"What does that mean?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"You shouldn't have made it out of Texas as a human," she said simply. "I thought that the second he saw you he was going to move on you. He was struggling with himself throughout those days. I cannot even begin to tell you what a struggle he went through down there."

"What happened with you and Peter?" I asked, changing the subject. I didn't like thinking about those scary days. The time spent in Colorado was strained enough. In Texas, it had been a living nightmare.

"Peter and I met during the vampire wars over territory. They occurred around the same time as your human Civil War. Things were very different back then. That will be a story for later, but I will tell you. Don't worry," she replied.

September rolled around. I was much more at ease with everyone, though they kept watching all the electronics. In all of the time I had been there, I had never had access to a computer without being monitored.

Jasper handled that himself. Whenever I would sit at the computer, he would lazily pull up a chair nearby. He wouldn't exactly watch the screen, he would look at me. I knew he was tossing glances at the screen too quickly for my eyes to follow, but he was clearly trying to make it appear I had privacy. I didn't really mind. I had given up any thoughts of a rescue after seeing what happened to the Rangers in Texas, but I did think from time to time about trying to send a coded note to Angela to get to my parents. She was the only person I knew who I felt would be smart enough to figure out such a situation on her own.

Things had become easier between Jasper and I, oddly enough, after the near fatal car crash. Although it seemed impossible, I felt better knowing about his gift. Not knowing, and feeling that there was something going on that I was shut out of, had been harder. I no longer tried to hide my feelings. My own sense of anger at myself for my attraction to him was very strong, and I allowed myself to experience it fully. Since I wasn't always good at words, sometimes I would give a spike in feelings, and Jasper would glance over at me quickly. We began communicating this way, oddly enough. If someone was speaking too quietly for me to hear, or on a topic I didn't understand, I would signal Jasper. He would turn the conversation in ways that weren't obvious to the others. It was like having a code.

I felt like I was starting to really fall for him. It was hard not to. He was tall, good looking, and attentive, and had a great deal of personal charm. He obviously knew the effect his southern drawl had on women, he liked to use it. I even caught him charming Esme with it, to Carlisle's wry amusement. On the other hand, he also claimed he owned me, that I was his. Although it gave me a thrill, it bothered me a lot. I didn't like the concept of ownership, it resonated too much with slavery and abusive relationships I had seen my friends locked into even in high school.

I was thinking of my upcoming 18th birthday with a great deal of sadness. After all, I should have graduated, top of my class, months ago, and be getting ready to go to college. Or, I should be having lunch with my friends, or going on some mind-numbing movie-shopping night with Lauren or Jessica. I should just be having a normal teen-aged life.

One day, during the first week of September, Jasper invited me to go for a walk with him. Once we were outside, he picked me up in a gesture so fast I didn't see it, and slung me on his back.

He took off running. As usual, I had to close my eyes, as it appeared that the trees were flying at us.

Finally he stopped, and let me down. I initially kept my eyes closed. I could tell I was sitting on rock, as I felt the cold, smooth surface under my hands and through the seat of my jeans. Soon, Jasper's cool hand was under my chin, lifting it. I opened my eyes to find his golden ones barely inches away.

I started to lean forward as if to kiss him, but caught myself and pulled back. He looked a little disappointed, but collected himself and helped me stand up. As soon as I saw where we were, I grabbed on to him. We were near the top of a mountain. It felt as though we were rather precariously balanced on a large boulder.

He laughed, pulling me closer with his arm, and directed my gaze outwards. I saw he was pointing to an eagle that was circling below us.

The view was magical. I could see for hundreds of miles in all directions. Of course, I had no idea of where I was, but the vista was breathtaking. There were forests below, where the tree types changed as the altitude changed. Not surprisingly, I couldn't see any human habitation. No cities. No roads.

I turned towards him, and he changed his grip so I could look in the other direction. He pulled me closer, and pointed out a few things. I felt his cool breath on my cheek, and eventually closed my eyes, leaning into him.

His lips met mine gently, brushing softly.

I was so confused. I didn't want this. I couldn't do this. He may not have been my original kidnapper, but he was responsible for keeping me from my family. Deep down, however, I knew I did want it. I wanted him. I finally relinquished my fear and gave in to his kiss. He pulled me closer, so that our arms and bodies touched, and he held me for a long time.

Eventually, he lifted me onto his back, and ran back to the house.

When we got back to our room, I was bumbling and nervous. He just smiled, and let me get ready for bed in peace, leaving the room momentarily. I grabbed a two piece pajama set out of my dresser, not taking any chances. When I pulled them out, my hand brushed across the silk from the baby doll nightgown that he had added to my original Victoria's Secret order back in Texas. I closed my eyes, and stayed with my original choice. Flannel. Two piece. If there had been one-piece footed pajamas, I would have put those on instead.

As I climbed into bed, he slipped back into the room, letting the sound of the closing door signal his return. Turning my back to him, as he sat in his usual chair, I lay down and attempted to rebuild the brick wall between us, but so many bricks had fallen. Finally I said, "Good-night," and he replied "Sweet dreams, darlin'."

PLEASE REVIEW. I KNOW THIS CHAPTER ISN'T VERY COMPLETE AS IT IS, BUT I WILL PUT UP THE REST OF THE CHAPTER AS A SEPARATE POSTING AT SOME POINT THIS WEEK, BEFORE I GO ON VACATION.

SHOW ME SOME LOVE, I'M TRYING, GUYS!


	12. Chapter 12 Welcome to Forever

Another Bella-Jasper Kidnap Story

The usual disclaimers – Stephenie Meyer owns all. I just like to play with the characters. Especially Jasper.

I want to thank my amazing beta readers EdwardsMate4ever and MissAnnBlack for helping me with this story. Anything good is their doing, trust me.

Chapter 11 – Happy Birthday, Welcome to Forever – Part 2

_When we got back to our room, I was bumbling and nervous. He just smiled, and let me get ready for bed in peace, leaving the room momentarily. I grabbed a two piece pajama set out of my dresser, not taking any chances. When I pulled them out, my hand brushed across the silk from the baby doll nightgown that he had added to my original Victoria's Secret order back in Texas. I closed my eyes, and stayed with my original choice. Flannel. Two piece. If there had been one-piece footed pajamas, I would have put those on instead. _

_As I climbed into bed, he slipped back into the room, letting the sound of the closing door signal his return. Turning my back to him, as he sat in his usual chair, I lay down and attempted to rebuild the brick wall between us, but so many bricks had fallen. Finally I said, "Good-night," and he replied "Sweet dreams, darlin'."_

I hadn't told them when my birthday was, but when September 13th came, the house was buzzing with excitement. After dinner, Esme brought out a chocolate cake, sparkling with candles, and Peter followed her balloons and an armload of brightly wrapped packages.

Our celebration was a mixed experience for me. Peter gave me his gift first, handing it to me with a huge grin. How does one say "thank you" to your kidnapper for his lovely sweater with cats on it? I just smiled at Peter, and said, "Thanks."

Charlotte's present was next. Her beautifully wrapped package contained a necklace with a small compass charm engraved with 'for finding your way'. I leaned forward and thanked her with a hug. In an odd way, she had been there for me, since the beginning. She may have been Peter's mate, but she kept me sane in Texas, moving me through those terrible days by helping me keep my focus on the routine matters of eating and sleeping. And now she was here in Colorado with me as well.

Esme gift was a cookbook she had found, filled with recipes for us to try together. I paged through it, calling out to her the ones I wanted to try first, giggling as I found another that sounded even better. Her smiles, which so often seemed forced, appeared to be genuine tonight.

Carlisle's present was Tiffany bracelet with a Cullen crest pendant on it. I bit my lip when I realized what the black and gold emblem represented, and he said quietly, "I can put it away for later if you prefer." I shook my head and held out my arm in response. He had the bracelet fastened around my wrist at lightning speed. It did look nice, but somehow it reminded me of the collar around King's neck. I could imagine another vampire looking at it to see who I belonged to. I shook my head to clear it of that image.

It was a moving evening. But I had to force many of my own smiles, missing Charlie and Renee as much as I did. I could tell Esme and Carlisle wanted me to accept them as parent figures, but although I was touched by their kindness, I could not just accept my gentle jailers with open arms.

Jasper's steady gaze told me he was aware of my struggle. At one point he sent me a wave of calm, which I appreciated.

After the party was over, as I was getting ready for bed, Jasper came to the bathroom door and said, "Change into this," while handing me heavy ski pants plus a warm top with a sweater and boots.

Were we really going camping in mid-September?

After I changed, he put his finger to his mouth in a gesture to stay silent. He picked me up, bridal style, and jumped off the balcony. He started running fast, even for him.

His fluid motion put me to sleep, and when I woke up, the sun had risen. I had no idea where we were. Jasper was lying next to me, perusing me carefully. I looked around; we appeared to be in a rustic cabin, what appeared to be a hunting lodge. The room was small, the furnishings very basic. The walls were knotty pine, and the sparse furniture was the kind of mismatch that one might have in a place that wasn't particularly secure, or used particularly often. It was very cold.

He raised himself up on one elbow and leaned over me. "Good morning, darlin'. Know that I love you." He moved over my body, and turned me so that I was in his arms. I let my resistance slip, which he clearly felt. He pulled me close and gave me a deep, long kiss that left me panting for more. He slowly pulled his body over mine, brushing his entire length over me repeatedly, teasing me with his proximity.

I reached up for him and started to pull him closer. My physical need pushed aside my mental reservations, and I pulled myself against him, straining my hips against his and gasping at the contact. I tugged his face to mine and brushed his lips, then pressed closer. His lips were cool and hard, so he allowed me to push against him, his cool breath heating up during the kiss.

He let his hands slide up from my waist, and I clumsily began to pull up my sweater with one hand to give him access to my body. He broke our kiss slightly for a laugh and then had my sweater over my head in a flash. I pulled at his, and he removed it before I knew it was gone. I stroked his marble chest, marveling at his rock hard build, fully muscled despite his lean appearance. He broke the kiss to move down to my breasts, before starting to trail his soft cool kisses down my navel to the waistband of my slacks.

It was impossible to deny my feelings, and he responded by removing all physical barriers and finally making us one. After, as we lay in one another's arms, I knew with all my being how right it felt to be together like this.

Then he began to move his head down below my ear. I felt him nuzzle my neck and draw a long circle on it with his tongue. Suddenly, I felt his teeth were against my neck and was shocked to feel sharp pain as they broke through my skin. I started to fight, pushing hard, but to no avail. He simply held me in his iron grip. I could hear a sucking noise, and then he pulled back.

I started crying. "What are you doing?" I gasped, as the pain was terrible.

"I'm getting tired of those brick walls that you keep building between us," he said. He lifted my wrist, as if to bend over it for a gallant kiss. In a flash, he flipped it, and bit it as well, sucking on it like he had at the house in Texas, all those months ago. Soon he moved over to my other hand.

I could feel a burning starting at his bites, and rapidly spreading outwards to both ends of my extremities, and in towards the center of my body. I started to scream. I could feel him remove the rest of my clothes and felt his cool body pressed against mine.

"It'll be over soon, and we'll be together, just like we are supposed to be. Forever, my love."

As the fire really began to move through my body, I felt the pain of my resistance starting to ebb, and a need for him starting to make itself known. The flames of this desire were soon comparable to the pain consuming my physical body. Forever might not be long enough, I thought, as I gave way and slipped into the fires that were transforming me into another.

THE END.

PLEASE REVIEW, THANKS!

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed, or marked the story with an alert or favorite indicator. Your encouragement kept me posting chapters. It's been a long haul since New Year's Eve!


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